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MANSFIELD COURIER - Wednesday, June 5, 2024 - Page 1
2022
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Wednesday, June 5, 2024
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RIFLE BUTTS UPGRADE UPDATE
SPECTACULAR: Mansfield Junior Netball Club’s 13/U blue team with coach Nadia Gardner following their Kyabram tournament last weekend, a spectacular end to the team’s rep season. ■ Full netball report in sport.
Sport
EAGLES AND BOMBERS WIN
Brakes put on car museum DESPITE community excitement surrounding the proposed Mansfield Automotive Museum, the facility is under threat of not going ahead unless a resolution is brokered with the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GBCMA). It was July of 2023 that Nick Theodossi was granted planning approval from council for the construction of the museum. The vision was bold: to construct a state-of-the-art two storey car museum on Dead Horse Lane that would serve not only as a tourist destination but also provide a much-needed conference space and educational facility. However, the project is no
BY EMMA OLIVER eoliver@ nemedia.com.au
closer to a starting date after what has been a very long and frustrating year, with the project caught up in bureaucracy, pushed back and forth between council and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority “It has been exhausting, given the extensive duration this has been going on with no definite resolution,” said Mr Theodossi. “At times I’ve considered just walking away from the project. “However we are giving it one last go and I’m just hop-
ing we reach a resolution with the authority.” The issue revolves around a small remnant stretch of designated waterway that lies on the 255 Dead Horse Lane property. The waterway – albeit small – would once have snaked its way along the northerly side of the road. Zoned for industrial and commercial land use, over the years the waterway has been piped and built over on surrounding blocks, until all that seems to remain is five to six metres of unbroken course on Mr Theodossi’s two acre block. The GBCMA accepts that large parts of the designated waterway have been historically piped between
the Mansfield Whitfield Road and along Dead Horse Lane, using what the authority admits is something of a “piece-meal approach”. At 255 Dead Horse Lane the waterway flows on to the property via piping and into existing piping before exiting the property, with only a short stretch exposed. Over the past 20 years, no Works on Waterways permits have been issued for any section of Dead Horse Lane. The GBCMA chose to overlook extensive historic disturbances and permit Mr Theodossi to pipe the entire waterway on his property. However he was told he could not realign its course to allow for construction of
the museum. “This is despite engineering reports finding that diverting the waterway would have no negative impact,” said Mr Theodossi. According to the GBCMA “the proposed pipe must follow the general existing alignment of the waterway consistent with other piped sections of the waterway upstream of the proposed development”. “In general, the GBCMA does not support the diversion of waterways to facilitate development, due to the potential impacts on river health, waterway stability and the waterway’s ability to carry flood flows,” said Chris Cumming, Chief Executive Of-
ficer, Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority. Construction of the museum was reliant on the authority approving the realignment of the waterway, with entry and exit points to remain the same, and the waterway diverted on-site to allow for the building. Mansfield Shire Council confirmed that after granting the planning permit, they had no further official role in the process. “Only the GBCMA has the authority to issue permits for works on waterways,” said Melissa Crane, General Manager Investment and Planning, Mansfield Shire Council. ■ More on page 2